Empowering family-owned businesses to achieve seamless succession
Your family-owned business is special. You've poured so much effort into it and want to see it live for decades to come. Are your operations, systems, and training optimized on a single platform? Do you have solid leadership, HR, and succession planning mapped out for the success of the future? <>
Why I focus on family-owned businesses
Take a step back in time with me to 1988. We were jamming out to Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" while enjoying McDonald's newest creation, the McFlurry. Beetlejuice, Dirty Dancing, Die Hard (no, it's not a Christmas movie), and Who Framed Roger Rabbit were the hot tickets at the local theatre, and The Wonder Years and The Simpsons graced our TV screens for the first time. Also, acid wash jeans and bunny ears in photos were all the rage, as evidenced by the image of me and my Dad to the left.
​
As cool as all of these things were, there was something even more important going on in my world: my Dad was launching his own book distribution company. I really didn't understand the impact of his decision (I was too busy watching The Simpsons) but I was still excited. Our family of 3 had A LOT of roller coaster moments during the next 30-ish years: excitement, tears, fun trips, lean times, growing pains, stress, moving locations, firing employees, Christmas parties with the Pittsburgh Steelers...you get the idea. I helped out in high school and during some time home from college, but it was never my intention to join the family business (cue your best Vito Corleone impression).
Then something changed. I was working in Chicago after various jobs in various states. I had acquired a solid background in business across a number of industries but felt I didn't have a place where I could apply what I knew without jumping through corporate hoops. I began to realize the best way to feel fulfillment with my work, to utilize the skills I'd begun to develop, and to really make an impact was the family business. (Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in!) I moved back to Pittsburgh in 2008, officially become part of our family business, and the rest, as you can say, is history. Though the initial business has been acquired, I've started a few of my own, and we all live in another state now, family business is who I am at my core.
Why family-owned businesses are so important
Obviously you know why your business is important to you, but let's take a quick look at why family-owned businesses are vitally important for the United States as whole.
64% of the
US GDP
Contributing significantly to national output, they play a major role in economic productivity.
62% of US employment
Employing a majority of workers, they are critical to maintaining the country’s labor market.
78% of US
job creation
Generating most new positions, they are essential for driving workforce expansion and job growth.
27.3% of all
US businesses
Representing a significant portion of all enterprises, they hold a vital place in the business landscape.
Why proper planning for succession is so important for family-owned businesses
Now let's talk about family-owned businesses and their multi-generational lifespan.
85% have zero succession plans
Most of lack formal plans for leadership transitions, leaving future ownership uncertain.
30% survival
rate
Only a third successfully transfer control from the founding generation to the next.
12% survival
rate
Very few make it beyond the second generation, with survival rates dropping dramatically.
15 year
life span
On average, they operate for 1 generation before facing closure.
How I help you streamline your succession planning and execution
Succession planning is essential for the longevity of family-owned businesses, and I’m here to help you create, refine, and catalog your operational and training systems on a single platform. By organizing these systems, we’ll ensure a seamless leadership transition and maintain long-term business continuity. Here's a quick glance at the key systems on which I focus:
Standardizing daily processes creates consistency and efficiency, allowing every team member to follow clear guidelines. This ensures that core business functions continue smoothly, regardless of who is at the helm. Such procedures also reduce the chance of errors and make it easier for new leaders to adapt and maintain established practices.
Let's chat
I can help you automate and optimize the systems in your family-owned business to help with seamless succession planning. Let's jump on a strategy call to take a look at what <>.
With Gratitude,
